NEWS 110
13
Above brooding male, below female of
Zoramia leptacantha
.The species grows to around 6 cm long.
Zoramia leptacantha
is regularly imported. Like all Cardinalfish species it should be kept in a shoal.
quadrisquamatus
lives with anemones like
clownfishes do, albeit with cave- and
crevice-dwelling species. The species of the
genus
Phaeoptyx
, likewise from the
Caribbean, live with starfishes and
gorgonians, and the Indo-Pacific species of
the genus Siphamia with the venomous
Crown of Thorns Starfish and sea urchins.
Some species, including the frequently
imported Threadfin Cardinalfish
Zoramia
leptacantha
(formerly
Apogon lepta-
canthus
) also live among stands of coral.
Only some 15 Caribbean species and
around 80 Indo-Pacific species are regarded
as coral fishes in the strict sense, ie species
that are always or regularly associated with
coral reefs.
Cave-dwellers
In general cardinalfishes can be described
as fishes that prefer to spend the day in
caves or other shelter. Only at twilight do
they venture further away from their
hiding-places.
At
the
same
time
cardinalfishes aren't very specialized. The
two species of the genus
Sphaeramia
,
